Ready, steady, call!

The first telethon campaign of the 2008-09 academic year gets set to secure gifts for the Annual Fund

For the Annual Fund team in the Office of Alumni and Development, the bright hues of autumn signal only one thing; the start of the academic year’s first telethon campaign.

Despite a global financial situation that seems to be worsening by the day, it is hoped that improvements to telethon technology and developments in the running of the Annual Fund will help to build on the achievements of previous campaigns and result in another successful telethon appeal. And, with over £6,000 raised after only the first week of calling, there is certainly cause to be optimistic.

The new Matched Funding scheme, which means that for every £3 raised, an additional £1 will be given to Imperial from the UK government, is also helping to boost the Annual Fund cause amongst prospective donors. Alumni phoned so far have also been interested to hear about the recently introduced Junior Research Fellowships fund and new donor club, Imperial 1000.

Newly introduced automated software used by the team of 40-strong student callers also has enabled better matching of student caller to alumnus, meaning that it is possible to connect students and alumni who have common interests and shared membership of Union Clubs and Societies. The new software also means that callers will be able to reach a great number of alumni per campaign than was previously possible.

Both the OAD and the callers are excited that, for the first time, alumni in the US will be included in the telethon campaign. Around 1,500 alumni in the US will be called as part of the annual Imperial College Foundation appeal, which also raises funds for Annual Fund projects. To compensate for the time difference, special calling sessions have been scheduled over two weekends in mid-November, as well as an all-night session on Thursday 20 November 2008.

According to Heather Campbell, Senior Executive for Individual Giving: “The students are very much looking forward to calling alumni in the US as it opens up a whole new group of former students for them to speak with. I think they will be particularly interested in hearing about what life is like for an Imperial graduate in the US and the circumstances which made them decide to relocate there originally.”

The College would like to thank all of our generous donors for their support so far. If you would like to find out more information about Imperial's Autumn 2008 Telethon campaign, please contact Heather Campbell: h.campbell@imperial.ac.uk.